Related Links

From its inception in 1989, the Industry Advisory Council’s purpose has been to bring industry and government executives together to exchange ideas, develop professionally, and build relationships and trust. In the loftiest terms, IAC is the government’s partner in the application and advancement of information technology.

Bill Piatt, chairman of IAC’s Executive Committee, said the group has provided vendor-neutral advice to federal procurement and IT officials during its more than 16 years. IAC’s members participate in public service through voluntary contributions of their time and ideas. The group is part of the American Council for Technology, a relationship that contributes to a more effective use of IT in the federal government, Piatt said.

This year’s IAC Executive Committee, featured on the following pages, embodies the high-level expertise that is essential to good government and the advancement of the IT industry.

Leslie Barry
IAC position: Vice chairwoman for professional development

Current job title: Vice president of government affairs and business development at GTSI

Brief résumé: Barry was director of business development for Computer Associates before joining GTSI in a newly created position. She is known throughout the federal IT community as an advocate for partnering and breaking barriers between the public and private sectors. A member of IAC since 1997, she is a graduate of IAC’s IT Partners Program and has served two years as the industry co-chairwoman of the program.

What do you think is IAC’s most important mission?
Furthering IAC’s goal for the Partners and Voyagers programs of breaking the barriers to communication between government and industry in an ethical and safe environment.

What do you hope IAC will accomplish this year?
To provide thought-provoking and educational experiences for industry members and government participants. My hope is that more parts of the government workforce will hear of IAC and want to participate.

What is your all-time favorite movie?
“The Sound of Music,” because the music is outstanding, the story is wonderful, the scenery is fabulous and I can sing the entire score.

Paul CohenIAC position: Vice chairman for management and finance

Current job title: Vice chairman at Pragmatics

Brief résumé: Cohen joined Pragmatics in 1998 after a successful career developing federal government business practices at Vector Research, where he was a vice president, and at American Management Systems, where as a senior principal he established the Health Care Systems Practice. He joined AMS after a 20-year career as a Navy engineering duty officer.

What do you think is IAC’s most important mission?
Providing well-researched, independent industry advice to the American Council for Technology and the government IT community through the work of the shared interest groups, conferences, forums, speakers and other activities when requested by ACT and its councils.

What do you hope IAC will accomplish this year?
From my perspective as vice chairman for management and finance, we plan on implementing an improved business and conference model that will support our goals of managed growth and service to ACT and IAC member companies.

What is your all-time favorite movie?
“Bananas,” an early Woody Allen movie, and more recently “Talladega Nights.”

Mary Ellen Condon
IAC position: Vice chairwoman at large

Current job title: Deputy director and vice president of business solutions offerings at SRA International

Brief résumé: Condon joined SRA International in 1999. She established the company’s information assurance practice in 2000 and the privacy practice in 2004. Currently, she is responsible for delivering homeland security and law enforcement solutions and services for federal, state and local governments. She has held positions ranging from programmer/analyst to IT executive at various agencies, including the Navy, Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the Agriculture and Justice departments.

What do you think is IAC’s most important mission?
Effective outreach and information sharing between industry and government. Dialogue will ultimately help provide government agencies with the right solution when it is needed.

What do you hope IAC will accomplish this year?
Following through on creating environments for the broad government and industry community to share ideas, approaches and challenges for better outcomes.

What is your all-time favorite movie?
“To Kill a Mockingbird,” because it is just as compelling today as when it was first released.

Ellen Glover
IAC position: Immediate past chairwoman

Current job title: Executive vice president of ICF Consulting

Brief résumé: Glover was vice president and general manager at Dynamics Research Corp., following the acquisition of Impact Innovations Group in 2004. As president of IIG, she was responsible for restructuring and growing the company more than 25 percent a year. Before IIG, she was president and chief operating officer of Advanced Technology Systems. She has also served on the boards of the IT Association of America and Women in Technology.

What do you think is IAC’s most important mission?
Working with our government counterparts to improve the delivery of information technology to meet mission goals. This is why IAC was created, and it is why government people see value in IAC.

What do you hope IAC will accomplish this year?
During my term as board chairwoman, we created yearly elections for the special interest groups, regular reviews of agendas and ensured that each SIG had an advisory committee of government leaders. I would like to see that continued and enhanced so that the SIGs’ energies are focused on the issues of greatest importance to the government.

What is your all-time favorite movie?
“Casablanca.” So many great lines, great inner conflict and characters who feel a duty to a higher set of goals.

Tricia Iveson
IAC position: Vice chairwoman for programs

Current job title: Director of IT/business transformation at SI International

Brief résumé: Iveson has two decades of experience developing government IT solutions at companies such as Science Applications International Corp., MicroStrategy, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. An IAC member since 1996, she served as chairwoman of the IAC eGovernment Shared Interest Group, for which she was named IAC Individual Contributor of the Year in 2005. Under her leadership, the e-government SIG expanded the Government Advisory Board and began regular information exchanges with the CIO Council and the Office of Management and Budget.

What do you think is IAC’s most important mission?
To bring industry and government executives together to exchange information, improve communications and understanding, solve issues, and build partnerships and trust.

What do you hope IAC will accomplish this year?
Reaching its goal of emphasizing its advisory role. Our success may be measured by government feedback that validates the value of the organization’s contributions and increased government participation in IAC programs and activities.

What is your all-time favorite movie?
“Judgment at Nuremberg” because it wrestles with questions of personal responsibility and basic moral values.

Dan Matthews
IAC position: Vice chairman of shared interest groups

Current job title: Vice president of government relations for civil programs at Lockheed Martin

Brief résumé: Matthews has more than 30 years of IT experience, including serving as CIO at the Transportation Department. He has served in executive positions with both business development and operational responsibilities. He has led successful large-scale IT operations, software and systems development efforts, and customer development activities.

What do you think is IAC’s most important mission?
Serving as the invited adviser to federal IT officials in areas of concern to those officials.

What do you hope IAC will accomplish this year?
I hope that IAC makes three significant inroads this year: to expand our role as advisor to the government, to strengthen the SIGs’ ability to perform their missions in a uniform manner and to work with ACT to bolster and increase federal IT executives’ participation in the ACT and IAC relationship. As the workforce is beginning to turn over, we must also redouble our outreach activities.

What is your all-time favorite movie?
“Breakfast at Tiffany’s” because it depicts someone searching for herself and the meaning of life, desiring to be free and then finding what she was looking for was right in front of her eyes.

Deirdre Murray
IAC position: Vice chairwoman at large

Current job title: Group manager of market development for the Government Systems Division at Sprint

Brief résumé: Murray is responsible for developing new business opportunities for Sprint in the federal marketplace. In the past 25 years, she has also held key management, operations, marketing and business development positions at GTE and US West (now Qwest Communications International). She has demonstrated a commitment to IAC’s success through active involvement on the program committee, the shared interest groups for governmentwide acquisition contracts and telecommunications, the ELC 2004 planning committee, and IAC’s annual Charity Golf and Tennis Tournament.

What do you think is IAC’s most important mission?
To enable industry to work effectively and certainly to improve, broaden and strengthen the communications and understanding between industry and government.

What do you hope IAC will accomplish this year?
Three main things: Bring the “A” back in IAC, meaning to strengthen the organization’s advisory role to the government, broaden the spirit of volunteerism of our 540 richly talented and resourceful member companies, and raise the influence of our nine special interest groups.

What is your all-time favorite movie?
“The Sound of Music,” because of the fantastic and very talented Julie Andrews and the beautiful scenery in Austria.

Bill Piatt
IAC position: Chairman

Current job title: Vice president of global public-sector marketing at CGI

Brief résumé: Piatt has been CIO at the General Services Administration, the Public Buildings Service and the Peace Corps. He previously served as IAC’s vice chairman for shared interest groups and chairman of the e-government SIG. He is also a principal at the Council for Excellence in Government.

What do you think is IAC’s most important mission?
The one for which it was created — providing industry-informed, vendor-neutral advice to the federal government on issues related to the use of information technology. This is accomplished through open, transparent and honest dialogue between leaders in industry and the government.

What do you hope IAC will accomplish this year?
Putting the ‘A’ back in IAC. We are the only industry association that was created by government leaders for the specific purpose of helping them better understand how IT can assist them in achieving their missions. We must ensure that we are helping our government colleagues become the best-informed and most productive consumers of IT.

What is your all-time favorite movie?
“What about Bob?” a light-hearted comedy that exposes many truths about human nature. It also happens to have been filmed at my favorite spot on earth — Smith Mountain Lake, Va.

Venkatapathi Puvvada
IAC position: Executive vice chairman

Current job title: Vice president and chief technology officer at Unisys Global Public Sector

Brief résumé: PV, as he is known, has more than 20 years’ experience in business and IT. He is a thought leader in business transformation, e-government, enterprise security, technology innovation, solution development methodologies and enterprise architecture. PV frequently speaks at conferences and forums, and he is active in various IT organizations. For his innovation and collaborative contributions to government, PV received Federal 100 awards from Federal Computer Week in 2003 and 2005 and was IAC’s Industry Contributor of the Year in 2004.

What do you think is IAC’s most important mission?
To provide industry leadership in partnering with the government to use IT innovatively to achieve significant improvements in mission outcomes.

What do you hope IAC will accomplish this year?
This year IAC will make significant accomplishments in several programs that emphasize the A in the Industry Advisory Council, adding to government and industry leadership through the Partners and Voyagers programs, through leadership from the shared interest groups and demonstration of the highest ethical standards.

Brief résumé: Smith has held a number of management positions at US West (now Qwest Communications International), GTE, NCI Information Systems and SBC. She has also served on the board of directors for Women in Technology and was chairwoman of IAC’s Telecommunications Special Interest Group for two years. She is the recipient of a Federal 100 award, and IAC honored her twice with the Outstanding Individual Communicator Award. She is the author of three books: two works of fiction and one nonfiction book on personal financial management.

What do you think is IAC’s most important mission?
To provide a trusted space where industry and government professionals from a variety of disciplines — technology, finance, acquisition, program management — can meet to discuss the critical issues that face both sides. This means conducting discussions with the highest ethical standards.

What do you hope IAC will accomplish this year?
Finding new ways to be fresh in addressing issues and meeting the government’s needs.

What is your all-time favorite movie?
I like complex movies that surprise me and are engaging on many levels, such as “The Sting,” “L.A. Confidential” and “Shakespeare in Love.”

Leslie Steele
IAC position: Vice chairwoman at large

Current job title: Founder and chief executive officer of InterImage, an IT consulting firm

Brief résumé: With more than 20 years of experience in the IT and telecommunications industries, Steele has focused on project and financial management, mentoring and the impact of technology on business processes. Under her executive leadership, InterImage has achieved growth, recognition and success. Before working at InterImage, Steele was vice president of information services at Oncor Communications. She also worked in various financial capacities at Sprint and MCI.

What do you think is IAC’s most important mission?
To advise the government on technology issues of importance to the government through an open exchange of information and dialogue among industry members and government.

What do you hope IAC will accomplish this year?
To effectively achieve its mission through improved mechanisms for receiving government input on issues of interest, new avenues for information exchange, more opportunities for dialogue at events and conferences, and broader participation by small businesses and government employees in IAC events.

What is your all-time favorite movie?
I don’t have an all time favorite. I recently watched “Shakespeare in Love,” and “To Have and Have Not” is also excellent.

Sally Turner
IAC position: Vice chairwoman at large

Current job title: Director of strategic initiatives at CGI Federal

Brief résumé: Turner has more than 25 years of experience in executive sales positions at Fortune 500 firms. She is a two-time recipient of the Corporate Chairman’s Club Award as the top and runner-up sales manager in consecutive years. As an active IAC member, she has held numerous committee positions. She also served on the board of directors of Women in Technology from 1999 to 2003.

What do you think is IAC’s most important mission?
IAC is a valuable forum for information technology exchanges and collaboration between industry and government. As such, IAC member firms are available to advise and assist government agencies with current IT challenges.

What do you hope IAC will accomplish this year?
To work with IAC volunteers to expand the Treasury Security Speakers Series for a broader audience. We are developing a full governance process to manage the effort, starting with the addition of the Agriculture and Health and Human Services departments.

What is your all-time favorite movie?
“Schindler’s List” because it reminds me of the terrible dictators the world has experienced in recent history.